Antibiotics and DDG

Expert: Antibiotic Regulations Do Not Apply to DDG

The Veterinary Feed Directive does not apply to the use of antimicrobials used in ethanol production, since ethanol coproducts are not medicated feeds. (DTN file photo by Cheryl Anderson)

OMAHA (DTN) -- With the Food Safety Modernization Act's new regulations on antibiotic use, a great deal of confusion exists about the use of antibiotics as an antimicrobial agent in ethanol production.

Richard Coulter, senior vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs for Phibro Animal Health, cleared up some of the misperceptions in a recent webcast.

The Food Safety Modernization Act is a significant initiative developed to ensure a strategic approach to managing risk in the food chain, Coulter said. It requires that producers evaluate potential risks in the food chain and develop strategies to identify, evaluate and rectify particular risks.

Since ethanol plants produce dried distillers grains, which are deemed by the FDA to be animal feed, ethanol plants are included in the list of facilities that must develop such a food safety plan.

"We see a lot of confusion at the moment with ethanol producers looking at adapting the Food Safety Modernization Act," Coulter said, especially in the use of antimicrobial agents used to control bacterial contamination in ethanol production.

Part of the reason behind the confusion is because of another initiative that involves veterinary medicines used for food animals.

A new veterinary drug initiative requires that after 2016, no antimicrobials may be used for food animals without the specific authorization of a veterinarian. However, the Veterinary Feed Directive does not apply to the use of antimicrobials used in ethanol production, since ethanol coproducts are not medicated feeds.

Since they make DDG that is considered animal feed, some ethanol producers believe they would potentially need a veterinarian to write them a prescription or a veterinarian feed directive to allow them to use antimicrobial products in ethanol.

"That is not true," Coulter said. "The two initiatives are entirely separate.

There are three approaches by which an anti-microbial production aid may be used in ethanol production, Coulter said.

First is the definition for DDG by the American Association of Feed Control Officials, which is very broad and does not prohibit, restrict or prevent the use of antimicrobials in the production of ethanol and DDG.

Secondly, plants could have an approved food additive petition, a mechanism which gives FDA approval to any microbial used in the ethanol production process.

The last way the product may be used legally is the generally-regarded-as-safe (GRAS) designation, which requires a scientific evaluation to ensure it does not constitute a hazard to animals that consume the feed or in any direct usages of the resulting DDG.

That third GRAS designation is the one that has allowed products such as Phibro's Lactrol to be used regularly in the ethanol industry for the last six to seven years.

Since corn coming into an ethanol plant arrives as a non-sterile material, it could bring undesirable bacteria into the ethanol production system. Anti-microbial products such as Lactrol help producers manage contamination in an ethanol fermentation system.

The majority of anti-microbial agents used in ethanol would be covered by GRAS, Coulter said. Such GRAS-approved products leave no unacceptable or dangerous residues that would persist in DDG and cause a hazard to animals or the foods they produce.

When analyzing hazards applying to ethanol plants, ethanol producers can state that the uses of Lactrol or other GRAS-approved antimicrobials are being used as directed as their hazard control strategy.

Coulter suggested that ethanol producers may want to ask their suppliers on what legal basis their antimicrobial production aid is marketed under.

"If they don't give the answer that it is marketed as a crude food additive or generally regarded as safe, then the producer probably shouldn't use that product because it potentially is not a legally marketed product," he said.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has proposed a $5 million budget addition aimed at expanding Missouri's 14 ports along the Missouri River, according to an article by the St. Joseph News-Press (http://bit.ly/…).

Nearly $1 million of those funds would come to St. Joseph to construct a 20,000-square-foot hoop barn for dry bulk storage to hold fertilizer, as well as dried distillers grains and grains such as wheat, soybeans and corn.

The St. Joseph Regional Port Authority is trying to build St. Joseph's port to become a hub for shipping grain and DDG from the Midwest to Cuba. This growth would allow the port to ship large fertilizer shipments by barge and return trip using the same barges with grain or DDG.

The Port Authority is already in the final stages of completing a $1.2 million capital improvement project that adds a conveyer system, a winch system, paving along a rail spur and a second truck sale.

More Recommended for You

Recommended for You

The improvement will allow the port to be more user-friendly and to be fully intermodal - handling both rail and truck freight as well.

Even though difficulties with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prevented the port from being open last year, Corps officials are guaranteeing a full spring navigation season with a nine-foot channel and hope for enough water by July 1 to continue into the fall.

In spite of the major improvements, experts predict it may take another year before a steady flow of barge traffic occurs at the St. Joseph port. The Port Authority Board is also hoping that Union Pacific will expand tracks at the port, as currently there is only enough track for about 10 freight cars at a time.

*The spot prices gathered by DTN are only intended to reflect general market trends and may vary. Please contact individual plant or merchandiser for exact prices.

If you would be willing to take a weekly phone call and have your distiller grains spot prices listed in this feature, please contact Cheryl Anderson at (308) 224-1527 or (800) 369-7875, or e-mail cheryl.anderson@dtn.com.

Offers for Distillers Dried Grains delivered by rail to feed mills in the Pacific Northwest were steady to 9.00 higher from 182.00-187.00. Offers for distillers dried grains trans-loaded onto trucks and delivered to Willamette Valley dairies were steady to 9.00 higher from 200.00-202.00.

Dry mill co-product production of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) was 1.97 million tons during December 2015, up 2 percent from November 2015 and up 3 percent from December 2014. Distillers wet grains (DWG) 65 percent or more moisture was 1.27 million tons in December 2015, up 12 percent from November 2015 but down 10 percent from December 2014.

Wet mill corn gluten feed production was 340.5 thousand tons during December 2015, up 5 percent from November 2015 and up 3 percent from December 2014. Wet corn gluten feed 40 to 60 percent moisture was 307.9 thousand tons in December 2015, up 6 percent from November 2015 but down 9 percent from December 2014.

If you are sponsoring or know of any event, conference or workshop on distillers grains, and would like to list it in the DTN Weekly Distillers Grains Update, please contact Cheryl Anderson (see contact info below).

We welcome any comments/suggestions for this feature. Please let us know what information is valuable to you that we could include in the Distillers Grains Weekly Update. Please feel free to contact Cheryl Anderson at (402) 364-2183, or e-mail cheryl.anderson@dtn.com.

Related Content

Recommended for You

Contact Us

About DTN

DTN is the independent, trusted source of actionable insights for two million customers worldwide focused on feeding, fueling and protecting the world. Customer-centric and colleague-driven, DTN focuses on empowering customers with decision-support solutions in agriculture, energy, commodity and financial analytics, and weather-sensitive industries through continuous, leading-edge innovation. DTN also produces the leading agriculture publication, The Progressive Farmer.

Join the community! Registration is FREE. As a member of the DTNPF online community you can contribute to discussions, save your settings, get exclusive email alerts and access to special online sections, and read e-newsletters.

Please correct the following errors and try again:

First Name*

Last Name*

Postal Code*

e.g. 68114 (US) or Y0B 1G0 (Canada)

Phone Number*

e.g., 402-390-2328

Email Address*

Confirm Email Address*

Password*

8-32 characters, include one number (0-9) and one letter (a-z)

Confirm Password*

I agree to receive information from DTN/The Progressive Farmer containing news, updates and promotions regarding DTN/The Progressive Farmer's products. I understand I can withdraw my consent at any time.